Todd Axtell

Todd Axtell is co-founder, president and CEO of The Axtell Group, a risk mitigation, quality control and crisis management team that works with police departments, private companies and government agencies across the country.  

Prior to launching The Axtell Group, he dedicated more than three decades of his professional life to public service with the Saint Paul Police Department, the last six of which as Chief of Police. 
 

Throughout his career, Axtell has championed trust, transparency, community engagement, diversity and the highest levels of accountability. He and the team he surrounded himself with are credited with helping make the Saint Paul Police Department a model of excellence that is emulated and admired throughout the state and country. 
 

During his tenure at the helm of the agency, Axtell assembled a diverse leadership team; instituted innovative training programs focused on ethical policing, moral courage, de-escalation and officer wellness; and led successful efforts to increase the diversity of law enforcement professionals through novel recruitment programs. He made community engagement and increasing diversity top priorities--and achieved both. Under his leadership, the Saint Paul Police Department connected with its community at historic levels and saw a 41 percent increase in the number of diverse employees. 

 

Under his leadership, the Saint Paul Police Department instituted practices that resulted in officers using lower levels of force than ever before, reduced civil payouts to record lows, and publicly shared more data than ever.

 

Today, Axtell and his team partner with law enforcement agencies, businesses and government organizations to reduce risk, conduct top-to-bottom reviews of policies and procedures, execute staff studies, offer crisis communications support and PIO services, and advise on safety and security practices.

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He currently serves on the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Foundation Board of Directors, is a member of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a past board member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute. He earned his master’s degree in Police Leadership, Administration and Education from the University of St. Thomas.

Axtell lives in Saint Paul, Minn., with his wife. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his seven grandchildren.